In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
This play is set in a small sewing factory in East Los Angeles in late summer of 1987. The play has a very small cast made up entirely of women: Ana, Estela, Carmen, Pancha, and Rosali. The characters are all migrant women. They are in a lower socio-economic class and their livelihood is entirely dependent on their jobs at the factory. 4 of them were recently granted legal residency in the united states. Estela is the only one that is still undocumented.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? The intrusion is the women learning that Estela is the only one that is still undocumented. She reveals that she has a criminal record and that she is being sued for not keeping up with her payments on the machines.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? The unique factor is that the women have a hard deadline to meet or Estela will be in even more trouble. The Glitz company is threatening to take her to court if she doesn’t meet the deadline.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will the women meet the deadline of 100 dresses by Friday? Will Estela be deported? Will Estela get her papers? Will Ana go to college and pursue her dream of becoming a writer?
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real WomenAna's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
Ana is a complex character in that she is a young feminist that is a member of a culture that is heavily marked by machismo. She wants to dismantle these systems but she doesn’t want to her the women in her life along the way. In this instance, she struggles between herself and society. She also has conflicts with Pancha and the other older women when she insists that the women’s liberation movement was good for all women. She also struggles with wanting to save money to go to college but she wants to help her sister. Here she has an internal struggle with herself.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves. The most theatrical moment in the play is when Ana decides that she doesn’t care about societal norms and strips down to her underwear in order to be more comfortable in the heat. The women follow her lead and also decide that they prefer comfort over what is deemed proper. Another theatrical moment is when Rosali faints and reveals that she had been starving herself in order to lose weight. She decides that her health is more important that being perceived as beautiful. Estela quitting is also a theatrical moment that conveys that she has had enough of her status as a second class citizen. Another theatrical moment comes at the end when the women parade around in fashion gowns thereby signifying that they (and especially Estela) have made it.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”) This show in particular deals with the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender. The image of real women and in particular, of plump women in their underwear depicts the strength and tenacity of the Latina immigrant community. The play deals with real issues that happen to real women. It is representative of their everyday struggles and does not objectify them to being the typical bombshell Latina that only serves as occasional comedic relief. The other strong image in the play is the sweatshop itself. The working conditions in the shop are extremely harsh and they serve as a visual representation of the hardships these women experience on a daily basis. The dresses also serve as a powerful image in the show. These women would likely never be able to afford or fit in the dresses they toil away at making.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women. Immigration Intersectional feminism Socioeconomic status Ethnicity
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why? This play shows the dynamic of a matriarchal community. All of the women have strong personalities. The show works hard to display the dynamic between a mother and her two daughters. It also displays the intricacies of family dynamics in immigrant communities and particularly within the Latinx community.
- In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
This play is set in a small sewing factory in East Los Angeles in late summer of 1987. The play has a very small cast made up entirely of women: Ana, Estela, Carmen, Pancha, and Rosali. The characters are all migrant women. They are in a lower socio-economic class and their livelihood is entirely dependent on their jobs at the factory. 4 of them were recently granted legal residency in the united states. Estela is the only one that is still undocumented.2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion is the women learning that Estela is the only one that is still undocumented. She reveals that she has a criminal record and that she is being sued for not keeping up with her payments on the machines.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor is that the women have a hard deadline to meet or Estela will be in even more trouble. The Glitz company is threatening to take her to court if she doesn’t meet the deadline.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will the women meet the deadline of 100 dresses by Friday?
Will Estela be deported?
Will Estela get her papers?
Will Ana go to college and pursue her dream of becoming a writer?
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real WomenAna's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
Ana is a complex character in that she is a young feminist that is a member of a culture that is heavily marked by machismo. She wants to dismantle these systems but she doesn’t want to her the women in her life along the way. In this instance, she struggles between herself and society. She also has conflicts with Pancha and the other older women when she insists that the women’s liberation movement was good for all women. She also struggles with wanting to save money to go to college but she wants to help her sister. Here she has an internal struggle with herself.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves.
The most theatrical moment in the play is when Ana decides that she doesn’t care about societal norms and strips down to her underwear in order to be more comfortable in the heat. The women follow her lead and also decide that they prefer comfort over what is deemed proper.
Another theatrical moment is when Rosali faints and reveals that she had been starving herself in order to lose weight. She decides that her health is more important that being perceived as beautiful.
Estela quitting is also a theatrical moment that conveys that she has had enough of her status as a second class citizen.
Another theatrical moment comes at the end when the women parade around in fashion gowns thereby signifying that they (and especially Estela) have made it.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
This show in particular deals with the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender. The image of real women and in particular, of plump women in their underwear depicts the strength and tenacity of the Latina immigrant community. The play deals with real issues that happen to real women. It is representative of their everyday struggles and does not objectify them to being the typical bombshell Latina that only serves as occasional comedic relief.
The other strong image in the play is the sweatshop itself. The working conditions in the shop are extremely harsh and they serve as a visual representation of the hardships these women experience on a daily basis.
The dresses also serve as a powerful image in the show. These women would likely never be able to afford or fit in the dresses they toil away at making.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women.
Immigration
Intersectional feminism
Socioeconomic status
Ethnicity
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why?
This play shows the dynamic of a matriarchal community. All of the women have strong personalities. The show works hard to display the dynamic between a mother and her two daughters. It also displays the intricacies of family dynamics in immigrant communities and particularly within the Latinx community.